DIY Kids' Halloween Costumes

My mom always made our Halloween costumes, and they were the coolest.  I couldn't tell you how many times our "trick or treat" was followed by,  "wait, wait! I have to go get my camera!" while running back into their house, or hollering for their friend or spouse to "come here, you have GOT to see this one!"  I loved our tradition of my dad taking us trick-or-treating, although I remember wishing that Mom could be there to see people's reactions to her work!

I found a really cute monkey costume in great shape for Toby at a garage sale this summer.  I figure that with garage sale prices, he doesn't have to just be whatever his big brother was on his first Halloween.

This is the first year I've decided to make a costume for Sammy.  He loves Thomas, as you all know I'm sure, so I'm working on a homemade costume for him.  He will be dressed as Sir Topham Hatt, and since my husband enjoyed pulling him around the neighborhood in a wagon to trick-or-treat last year, I'm going to "dress" our wagon to look like Thomas.

I just finished making his part of the costume, using a mix of thrift store and garage sale clothing finds.

This part was pretty simple, as it was just a matter of finding the right clothing items in the right colors.  I found some gray pants, but they were a 5T so I had to shorten them a bit.  I found the velvet jacket at a garage sale for $4, the white dress shirt for $1.95 at the thrift store, and the foam top hat for $4 at a Michael's craft store.  I also picked up a 2-pack of huge, black buttons at Michaels for the vest.  I couldn't find a bright yellow vest, so I made one out of a woman's button-down sleeveless shirt thing, also from the thrift store.  I just had to chop off some of the bottom, cut off and fold the collar to make a V-neck, and bring in the sides.  That was probably the most work of it so far.  I haven't decided if I'm going to attempt to give him a round belly...

Next up is "dressing" up the wagon, which I plan to do with cardboard and paint.  He was getting pretty excited about his costume last night when I had him try everything on to pin his pants and vest to be sewn (above, left).  I can't wait to see his face when he finds out he gets to ride his own Thomas through the neighborhood!

I have a few links for those of you who are also already thinking ahead to this year's Halloween and would like to try making your own costumes...

If you are able to sew, you can find many patterns to make your own:
Simplicity patterns for Babies and Toddlers
Simplicity patterns for Children
McCalls Halloween Costume Patterns

Here are some other ideas I found online for making your own costume...

I love this human pinata idea....super creative!!  Pretty time consuming, but cute!

"Quick & Simple" has a list of 16 easy costumes that you can make, like this poodle.  I'd of course finish this off with a little nose and whiskers with some face paint.  I happen to know a great place to get some face paints, too!

"Family Education" has a huge list of ideas.  There aren't any good photos, which is a bummer, but if you are really looking for a lot of ideas, there are plenty!

Family Fun is full of awesome project ideas for every time of year, so of course they have some great ideas too!

You can get some great inspiration from those who have entered their costumes in contests too, like these:
Parenting.com Halloween costume contest
Coolest Homemade Costumes contest winners 

What are you planning to dress your kids as this Halloween?  Whether you have the time to make one yourself, or find the perfect fit in a store, I wish you a fun and safe Halloween!